In search for Fla. woman, satellite blazed trail

LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. — Nobody followed the driver of Susan Fast's sport utility vehicle, which investigators believe her killer used to carry her mutilated body to a retention pond in Lakewood Ranch.

But high above the Earth's atmosphere, global positioning system satellites were sending and receiving signals from the navigation system in the murdered woman's car, leaving an electronic trail that led police to her corpse.

Along with cell phones, GPS systems have become a key tool for law enforcement in recent years, allowing detectives to retroactively trace the movements of suspects or to find victims.